


Storm Front

by Aviss



Category: Bleach
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-17
Updated: 2010-02-17
Packaged: 2017-10-07 08:29:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 17,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/63279
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aviss/pseuds/Aviss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>While investigating the disappearance of a group of shinigami Ichigo discovers not everything they told him about the end of the war is true.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue - A Storm Is Brewing

Grimmjow looks back at the shinigami chasing him, his breath coming in short pants and his movements beginning to slow down. He's getting tired of this game of cat and mouse. He doesn’t like the feeling of being the mouse; he has more in common with the cat.

Behind him another two figures in black join the one already on his heels and Grimmjow curses, stopping for a second to shoot a cero. He's tired, he shouldn't be overdoing it.

But those bastards keep coming.

Under them, on the street, people walk unconcerned, getting on with their own lives completely oblivious of what's going on in the sky over them. It annoys the fuck out of Grimmjow.

"Stop there Espada," one of the shinigami shout, "we don't want to kill you, don't make us."

Grimmjow barks a laugh. "As if you could."

He jumps forward surprising the shinigami with his sudden attack, and unsheathes his sword in the same movement cutting the annoying bastard almost in half. Good, one less pest to worry about.

But the situation is still dire, he's wounded and tired and those fuckers keep coming.

Grimmjow looks wildly around, his instinct is telling him to get away from there though he'd much rather stay and kill them all.

"Bastard!" One of the remaining shinigami shouts releasing his sword. "You're dead you fucking bastard!"

Grimmjow laughs and sheathes his sword again, pressing his palm against the sharp edge and nicking it in the same movement, a few drops of blood swelling in his hand. He has one chance and only one; he is going to take it. He waits till the two shinigami attack at once to lift his hand, relishing in their shocked expression. "Gran Rey Cero." He doesn’t stop to see the result, before the flash is out Grimmjow has already turned and left the place.

There is no way those weaklings would survive the blast anyway.

He follows the trail of a known reiatsu until he reaches an apartment block, the small houses cramped with people living their pathetically short lives.

He's barely conscious by the time he gets to his destination, blood dripping from a wound on his side and his head feeling too light. He's lost a lot of blood but luckily he knows how to fix it.

"Woman I need you to heal me," he says entering the small apartment through the window and ignoring her shocked face and blatant fear.

"Grimmjow!" Orihime gasps the colour draining from her face. She looks exactly the way he remembers her: scared and frail, eyes darting around to see if salvation will come in the way of a knight in shinning armour. "What--"

"Don't ask, just do as you're told," Grimmjow demands impatiently motioning to his wounded side. "You owe me."

She is still reluctant, he can tell. It's not just the shock of seeing him there, alive, but the fact that he's gone to ask for her help. He wouldn't if he had another choice and he's sure she knows that.

"What are you doing here? I thought you were dead, I thought all of you were dead," she finally manages to say, her voice low and almost trembling. Grimmjow is surprised at the disgust he feels hearing her. He can't stand weakness and this woman, in spite of her power, is weak.

But he needs her now.

"I said don't ask."

She's still frozen, staring at him with those wide and frightened eyes. "No," she shakes her head.

Grimmjow is on her in an instant, grabbing her scrawny neck and lifting her from the floor. He barely has the strength left in him for that, he needs to be healed quickly.

"Do it or I snap your neck like a twig, woman," he snarls in her face. And still she shakes her head.

"No. If I heal you, you'll look for Kurosaki-kun, I know you will," she says, still doing the same song and dance as before. Grimmjow almost rolls his eyes.

"I have no interest in your shinigami friend," he lies.

She's still looking at him with the same stubborn expression, frightened of him but determined to deny him help.

"Promise me," she finally says.

"I won't look for your friend," he says through gritted teeth, the pain and annoyance he's feeling almost making him choke on the words.

"I'll heal you then," she says and Grimmjow releases the woman to allow her to work.

He's not too worried about the promise, if he wants to fight Kurosaki he doesn’t need to look for him. Somehow he knows the shinigami will find him when the time is right.

…


	2. The Calm Before The Storm

The sword is coming down at him at an amazing speed, the white glint of its steel all the more dangerous because of its beauty. Ichigo dodges at the last second, barely managing to stay upright in the slippery ice. He curses under his breath. On his other side the heavy blow from the big sword hits him at full power, pain exploding in his chest and the first drops of blood soaking through his shihakushou.

He finally loses his balance at the force of the blow and goes sprawling on top of the ice, panting.

"Damn it!" He curses at the first laughs, glaring hotly. "No ganging up on me you bastards, this was supposed to be just me and Rukia."

Renji sheathes his sword again, taking a spot on a boulder above the place where they are sparring, his mouth curved in a smirk. "Sorry Ichigo you looked like you wanted to fall; I just helped you a bit."

Bastard.

"Are you going to get serious, Ichigo? You haven't even released your Bankai," Rukia complains her brow furrowed in annoyance.

Ichigo stands up and shakes his head, a few drops of water and tiny ice crystals flying every which way. "I don't need to release Bankai for a sparring session, you dummy," he says, not unkindly. It's so good to have his friends with him there he can't be angry with them.

Even if they deserve it for stunts like that.

She pouts and Renji laughs again. "He's right Rukia it's not his power what needs to improve, is his swordsmanship." Renji jumps down again from his place, landing gently between them. "Ichigo never learned sword techniques; he just got that meat cleaver he calls a zanpakutou and began to swing it wildly. If he's still alive with no Kidou and no techniques is only thanks to that monstrous reiatsu of his and that psychotic hollow inside him. And because we like saving his arse." This last one is delivered with a smirk aimed at Ichigo and he glares in response.

"It's not as if I had time to train before, what with saving damsels in distress and killing egomaniac ex-shinigami to win a war," Ichigo protests, though he knows Renji is right. It's a miracle he has not been killed yet considering he has no proper training. It's more of a miracle he has been able to keep his hollow on a leash again after relying so much on his power during the war. "And I remember saving _your_ arse more than once as well."

He charges at Renji before the last words are even spoken, a smirk on his face at the surprise reflected in his friend's eyes. Rukia circles them, shouting quick instructions at Ichigo as they parry and deliver blow after blow, intervening occasionally to give Ichigo a quick smack with her sword when he curses at her.

Ichigo can't remember having this much fun in a long time, the war and the reconstruction were not things he enjoyed. Now he has his friends around and time to spend with them with no pressure and no sense of impeding doom.

If there is something he misses he doesn't think about it.

"Hey, I have to take a quick shower and leave," Rukia says after some time, Renji and Ichigo sprawled on he ground panting with exertion. "I have a date tonight."

Ichigo opens an eye and looks at her, "Who's the poor unfortunate soul?" he asks smirking. Rukia smacks him over the head again.

"I'm not telling you!"

Renji laughs and pushes himself up on his elbows, "I'll look for the one who's black and blue tomorrow," he says and Rukia glares at him, delivering a sharp kick to his ribs. Ichigo barks a laugh and receives the same treatment before she jumps away from them and out of Urahara's basement. "Poor bastard, dating such a violent girl," Renji finishes staring after her, and they share a look before he collapses on the ground again, laughing.

"What about you, Renji?" Ichigo says closing his eyes and leaning back, enjoying the feeling of the warm water lapping at his body. This is also another favourite of his, Urahara's healing hot spring. Is good not having to hold back during the training with something like that around.

"What about me?" Renji sounds as relaxed as Ichigo feels, his voice floating lazily between them.

"When are you going to confess to your Taichou?"

Renji splutters and Ichigo opens his eyes to find him staring with a shocked expression. He hit the jackpot with that one, not that it was a difficult guess.

"What are you talking about, idiot?" Renji protests but Ichigo can see the colour rising to his face.

"I've seen how you look at Byakuya and the way you follow him like a trained puppy."

"He's my Taichou for fuck's sake, of course I follow him! I respect him!"

Ichigo laughs shaking his head. What he saw it's not mere respect, no matter how much Renji protests. Not after he saw how worried Renji was when Byakuya almost died during the war; the guy has been obsessed with his taichou since forever but it seems he's not ready to admit it yet.

"Whatever you say," he shrugs letting the subject fall and closes his eyes.

The silence is comfortable for a while, just the soft murmur of the water lapping at their bodies and their regular breaths filling the air.

"And you Ichigo? It's been months since the end of the war, aren't you going to find someone?" Renji asks after a while.

Ichigo opens his eyes slowly to look at his friend. "Nah, there isn't any girl I fancy," he says, and it's the truth. Renji's arched brow tells him he's not buying it.

"I never asked about a girl," Renji says, confirming Ichigo's suspicion. "There must be someone you like," he insists.

"Nope, nobody comes to mind," Ichigo says closing his eyes again and relaxing back. It's true, there is nobody he likes right now, or at least nobody _alive_. And he's definitely not thinking about _that_. Not now.

"I think Shuuhei was giving you the eye last time he was here," Renji says, stubborn like a dog with a bone, Ichigo is sure he's not going to leave the subject rest until he's satisfied with his answer.

"Shuuhei? Not my type."

"What about Shinji?"

"Urg!"

"Urahara?"

"Don't be disgusting Renji, those guys are at least a couple of centuries older than I am. And Urahara is a lecherous bastard," Ichigo cries indignant only to be faced with Renji's smirking face. "You're pulling my leg, you fucker."

"Turnabout is fair play."

He feels like punching Renji's smug face but he has something better, "But maybe your pretty Taichou--" he begins and Renji splutters again, his eyes narrowing sharply. Ichigo has to choke back a laugh. "Since you are clearly not interested, and Byakuya is very attractive."

"And very straight, he was married," Renji says, almost a whisper. _So that's the problem!_

"Not so straight as you might think my friend, trust me on this one."

Renji looks at him with open disbelief on his face and sighs. "Anyway, I don't think he's your type. He's strong, but he's not bloodthirsty or homicidal enough for you." There is something in Renji's tone, something that tells Ichigo he might be more observant than he gave him credit for. But whatever it is Renji knows it doesn’t matter, not anymore. "Your type is more like Kenpachi, rough, rude and completely psychopathic. Add a bit of blue and a tattoo and you have the perfect guy for you," Renji finishes with a smirk.

Ichigo stares at him seriously, the amusement completely gone. "He's dead Renji, you know that."

Renji startles at that, his face turning serious as well. "Oh fuck, I was kidding but--"

They're interrupted by the loud beeping of Renji's phone and he scrambles out of the hot spring to answer it, completely uncaring of his nudity. Ichigo tilts his head up and stares blindly at the ceiling, suddenly feeling very tired. He knows Renji was just fucking with him in retaliation for asking about Byakuya, and he had apparently stumbled upon the truth just by accident.

He would have not said something like that if he knew.

It still bothers Ichigo.

"Damn!" Renji's loud voice takes Ichigo back to the present.

"What's wrong?"

"Some guys from the 12th Division have gone missing here, in Karakura," Renji says while he puts on his clothes and Ichigo takes it as his cue to get out of the water and start getting dressed as well.

"The 12th?" Ichigo doesn't try to disguise the disgust and hatred in his voice. He can't understand the way the Gotei-13 works but Kurotshuchi's Division holds a special place in his regard.

He would gladly destroy it with his own hands, especially since the war. And he's not thinking about that, not now not ever.

"Yes, they were investigating something under Kurotshuchi-taichou's orders. The five of them failed to report back and Soul Society is unable to reach them."

Ichigo frowns, thinking. The 12th Division is not known for making trips outside Seiretei: they help in emergencies and are trained like the rest, but that Division is more concerned with research and developing new things. It's strange that they were in Karakura, and even stranger that they have gone all missing.

"What were they investigating?" Ichigo asks, curious.

"I don't know; Kurotshuchi-taichou doesn't share information with the rest of the Gotei-13. But they are presumed dead and they have asked me and Rukia to investigate with you," Renji doesn’t appear to be more pleased with that development than Ichigo is.

"Damn! I knew sooner or later Soul Society would get me involved in their shit again." And if there is a Division he really doesn't want to be involved with is the 12th.

Renji laughs at that, "Story of your life, my friend. Now let's go, Rukia is on her way there and she won't be too happy to have her date cancelled."

Ichigo rolls his eyes and moves to the exit, Renji hard on his heels. "Tell me about it, and now she's going to be more violent than before."

"Is that even possible?"

"We're going to find out, aren't we?"

…

"What's taking you so long to heal, woman?"

Grimmjow is beginning to feel impatient and restless. She's taking too long to fix him and he doesn’t have much time to spare: those shinigami he killed before were just the beginning, there have to be more already looking for him.

"Here," she says, her finger touching a spot at the back of his neck. Grimmjow feels a small jolt course his spine at the touch, a feeling of wrongness engulfing his body, "is something I can't reject."

He takes a sudden step forward getting away from her and her fingers. "Enough!" Grimmjow snaps, turning around suddenly to look at her. She's startled and takes a step back, putting more distance between the two of them.

She lowers her hands and the field hanging between them disappears, her hairpins returning to their rightful place. "That's been there for sometime," she says looking at her hands, "and there is a strong reiatsu embedded in it I can't reject."

"Never mind that," Grimmjow says. He has an inkling on what it might be and it just makes it more urgent that he leaves that place. He might not like the woman very much but she's more useful to him alive than dead, and chances are she won't stay that way much longer if Grimmjow stays at her apartment.

"I've seen that symbol before, that flower--"

Grimmjow shakes his head. "Forget about that, I'm leaving."

She looks relieved to see him gone. "Remember your promise," she says, almost a whisper.

Grimmjow resists the urge to roll his eyes. That woman is so predictable. "I will," he says and leaves the same way he arrived, moving quickly from rooftop to rooftop and opening a Garganta to Hueco Mundo.

…


	3. Storm Clouds

They arrive at the place where the 12th Division officers disappeared fairly quickly, Rukia already waiting for them there, a frown creasing her brow and her lips pressed tightly together.

Ichigo can tell it's not irritation what he sees in her face and can feel the reason the moment they stop. _That reiatsu_, he knows that reiatsu--impossible as it is for it to be there. He knows Rukia has recognized it as well.

"Is this the place?" Renji says looking around, brows furrowed in thought. "I feel something--"

"I know what you feel," Ichigo says shortly, looking around for some clue as to what happened there.

"Ichigo?" Rukia appears at his side, her small hand a comforting presence on his shoulder.

"It's not possible," he says absently, his mind trying to piece together the events from what little he can see and feel in the place. Renji is looking at him with a concerned expression, more interested in Ichigo it seems than in what they are investigating.

"What--" Renji begins and Rukia shots him a look.

"Grimmjow."

"He was here," Ichigo says feeling strangely detached from the entire situation.

He has avoided thinking about the deranged Espada since the end of the War, since the moment Kurotshuchi came back from Hueco Mundo and informed them he had cleansed the place. Ichigo has avoided thinking about a lot of things since then or he would have killed Kurotshuchi with his bare hands.

"That's not possible," Renji insists, though he's looking far from sure.

"He _was_ here, I can feel his reiatsu, faint but still here. Also, a cero has been shot in this place. It's always been his favourite move."

"But Grimmjow is dead. There was nothing left in Hueco Mundo but the sand and the collapsed buildings when we checked," Renji says, uncomprehendingly.

Ichigo knows that well enough; he can still remember his anger and pain seeing the place completely devoid of life. He raged against Yamamoto for allowing Kurotshuchi to do something like that: killing everyone in Hueco Mundo, regardless if they were enemies or allies, while Ichigo and the rest of his friends were busy fighting Aizen. He should have never allowed Grimmjow and Nell to stay behind.

"This is that fucking Kurotshuchi's doing," Ichigo spits venomously letting all his anger at the shinigami colour his words. "He's up to something."

"Ichigo be sensible, it's his subordinates who died here. I don't think Kurotshuchi-taichou would endanger his people like that," Rukia says trying to be the devil's advocate, though it's clear from her expression she doesn't like the guy any more than Ichigo does.

"I don't give a fuck about the 12th Division officials," Ichigo says finally looking at his friends, "but you have to admit it's pretty suspicious to find _his_ reiatsu where people from _that_ Division has disappeared."

Renji and Rukia share a look, it's clear to Ichigo they also smell something fishy. "What do you want to do then?" Renji says.

He thinks for a second. This place is not important; if things happened the way Ichigo suspects they might have, the place they need to investigate is in Seiretei. "Is it possible to enter the 12th Division for you?"

Renji shakes his head. "No, they are terribly paranoid, especially in the Research institute. Any shinigami from another division needs a shit-load of paperwork to be allowed in."

"Shit!"

"There is a way," Rukia says looking at them and Ichigo can swear he sees a light blush on her cheeks. "Kisuke surely knows how to avoid all that."

He feels his eyebrows trying to climb up his forehead. "Kisuke?"

"Not another word." She shots them a glare and fishes for her phone between the folds of her clothes, Ichigo and Renji staring at her. "Kisuke it's me. Yeah I know, they called me with something urgent. I need your help. I'll explain everything when we get to your shop."

"You two go ahead, I'll follow this reiatsu and see where it takes me," Ichigo says. "I'll meet you at Urahara's in about an hour."

…

_"Hey Shinigami, don't die! I will be the one to kill you."_

_"Come with us Grimmjow, there is nothing for you in Hueco Mundo."_

_"I'll catch up with you soon; there is something I need to do before."_

That had been the plan, but the next time a Garganta opened it had been that freak coming out of it, that fake smile on his face while he told them Las Noches had been obliterated and every single hollow in it exterminated. He had been so proud, the fucker, and Ichigo had stared at him, disbelief clear on his face until he saw it with his own eyes.

Nell. Peshe. Dondonchakka. _Grimmjow_.

All of them gone.

Hueco Mundo was just a dessert with a mound of standing ruins where Las Noches used to be.

He had been incapable of believing, of understanding, how such monstrosity had been allowed to take place but Yamamoto had been clear when Ichigo argued with him. Hueco Mundo was full of hollows and it was a shinigami responsibility to exterminate them. What Kurotshuchi had done, though not initially in their plans, followed their beliefs to the letter.

And now this.

Ichigo knows as he follows the faint trail where he is heading to, and that makes him be more convinced if possible that he's not mistaken. Grimmjow is not dead, he has been there and he has killed the 12th Division officials.

And he has gone to _her_ for help after that.

Inoue is not surprised to see him at her door when he knocks, she almost looks relieved. They have not seen each other in the past months after the war and Ichigo can't blame her: he almost killed her while trying to save her and became a monster in front of her eyes.

He turned out to be more of a dragon than a prince.

"Kurosaki-kun," she says opening the door wider and letting him in. He can feel it stronger in here, Grimmjow's reiatsu filling the small apartment, so strong it's almost stifling. "I knew you would come." There is a world of sadness and resignation in her words and Ichigo instantly regrets letting so much time pass without talking to her.

"Inoue," he says, suddenly at a loss for words. He has not known how to face her since their return, and it feels unfair that he is here now looking for someone else. Ichigo is not as blind as most people would think and has known how she felt for sometime, it never was a good moment to break her heart. It still isn't.

"Grimmjow was here," she begins pacing up and down the room, twisting her hands. "He was in a bad condition when he appeared and asked me to heal him. He's alive."

Ichigo nods to let her know he is aware of that. "When?"

"Not long ago," she appears nervous about something, her eyes shifting restlessly.

"Do you know where he went?" Ichigo asks though he is sure he knows the answer.

"He didn't say and he was in a hurry to leave," Inoue says, still not looking at Ichigo.

They stay in silence for a while, the air heavy with things unsaid and thick with regret. There are so many things he needs to tell her, he needs to apologize for. He didn't protect her like he should, he hurt her and he never acknowledged her feelings. Ichigo knows now he should have been frank with her, maybe hurt her for a moment but let her get over it. The way things are now is painfully awkward.

"I made him promise not to look for you," she finally says and Ichigo looks up at that, frowning. "I knew. I could see it in Hueco Mundo. You were more concerned about your fight with him than anything else, and you saved him. You didn't spare Ulquiorra or any of the others, but you protected Grimmjow."

Ichigo is staring at her now with open disbelief, his throat too dry to utter a word. Not that he knows what he would say if he could.

"I was almost glad when I heard he died, and I hated myself for that," she continues, her words chocked with emotions. Ichigo's heart clenches painfully. "I wanted things to go back to the way they were between us Kurosaki-kun. I wanted us to be good friends again. I wanted _you_ to be the same old Kurosaki-kun so I wouldn't be afraid of you anymore."

"Inoue," he tries, his voice sounding alien in his ears. She shakes her head, silently asking him not to interrupt her.

"I just couldn't see you _are_ the same Kurosaki-kun. That thing has always been inside you, and I don't need to be afraid because you control it now." She looks directly at him, her eyes brimming with unshed tears but the beginnings of a smile lifting the corners of her mouth. "I'm sorry Kurosaki-kun."

He walks up to her and stops mere inches away, awkwardly. He doesn’t know what to do now he's so close, he wants to comfort her but he's ill equipped to provide comfort. In the end he settles for an awkward hug, his arms encircling her lithe body and pressing her against his chest for a second.

It seems to be the right thing to do; Inoue releases a shaky breath and chuckles wetly, her laugh turning into a sob. She cries in his arms for a while, her body shaking. "I'm so sorry Inoue," he finally says and she takes a step back at that.

"You can't help who you are Kurosaki-kun," she says wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her dress. "You have to go after him. I don't know what happened in these past months but it wasn't good. He has a weird mark on his neck, something I couldn't get rid of in the time we had."

"A mark?" He asks, a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"Yes, a flower. Kind of like the ones Toushirou and Rangiku had when they came but different."

"Did you happen to recognize it?" he asks though he doesn't need to. He's sure it wasn't the 10th Division insignia she saw.

"Yes. It's the same one Nemu-san has in her badge. The 12th Division mark."

…

Las Noches feels more like a graveyard than the place Aizen tried to make of it, its pristine walls and halls nothing but a pile of rubble in the middle of the desert, silence covering it like a shroud.

It gives Grimmjow the creeps.

The entire Hueco Mundo gives Grimmjow the creeps now but he has nowhere else to go.

His hand moves on his own to the spot on the back of his neck the woman touched, and again he feels the same sick feeling coursing through his body. That fucking bastard! Grimmjow knows what the mark means and hates it with his entire being. He wants to get rid of it, though it would take time and that is something he doesn’t have right now.

"I knew you would come here, Espada."

Grimmjow doesn't startle at the voice, doesn't run away from it though every fibre of his being is telling him he should.

"You fucker!" he spits, hands clenching at his sides and body trembling in fury. He attacks before he is fully aware of moving, his body reacting before his brain does. The freak in the mask just laughs and steps aside, his pale hand rising in a mock salute. Grimmjow sees red.

"I don't like my specimens running away, Espada," he says and he snaps his fingers, Grimmjow's body suddenly freezing in the middle of his lunge.

"What have you done to me, you fucking bastard?" Grimmjow snarls, fighting against the compulsion which holds his body unmoving. He hates feeling helpless and would happily tear that fucker apart with teeth and nails if he could only move.

"Don't move Espada, I don't want you damaging your body," he says mockingly. "We have to wait here for a while before we can go back, so keep silent as well."

Grimmjow opens his mouth to give him a piece of his mind but his throat is not working. Silently he screams; rage and hatred and his own helplessness making him choke in despair.

In front of him Kurotshuchi laughs.

…


	4. Thunderstorm

"It's a neurological block."

Ichigo is sitting with Renji and Rukia in Urahara's shop, all of them drinking tea from the small cups while Urahara Kisuke talks. He's told them everything he learned from Orihime, including the flower mark on Grimmjow's neck. Urahara was startled at first hearing about it, and he's now the one explaining the meaning of it.

"It resembles the reiatsu limiters they put in Taichous and Fukutaichous when they come to earth, only it works differently," Urahara says holding their attention and making small gestures with his hands. He's not touched his own cup of tea, and there is a worried frown etched on his forehead. Ichigo has rarely seen this serious side of him. "It's put here," Urahara touches the base of his neck, "and it controls the impulses sent from the brain to the body, effectively making the person wearing it a puppet in someone else's hands."

"How do you know all that?" Rukia asks, her face showing the disgust Ichigo feels at those words.

Urahara shrugs, "I created it."

"You?" Ichigo narrows his eyes, he should have guessed. Every single one of Urahara's old creations seem to come back to haunt Ichigo.

"It was a mistake. I was researching something to help the treatment of injured shinigami during missions, something that would help relieve the pain until the 4th Division was able to help them," Urahara explains slowly, "the theory was to create a barrier between the nerve's response to pain and the brain, that way the shinigami affected would not feel it."

Renji's staring at him with a disbelieving expression, "That's exactly the opposite of what you just said."

Another shrug, this time accompanied with a self-depreciating smile. "I know. The only thing I managed to achieve was blocking the brain impulse to the nerves, not the other way round. The body becomes paralyzed but they can still feel everything. Pretty screwed up if you ask me."

"It is," Ichigo agrees. The more he knows about that thing the angrier he becomes, somehow he feels like taking it all out on Urahara, though he is sure this time he's not the one to blame.

"My fukutaichou at the time told me loud and clear--I had the print of her sandal on my face for a week--what she thought of that. I had to agree with it. The research was never released and I forgot about it until now."

"Obviously Kurotshuchi found it and put it to good use," Rukia says.

"Are you sure it was the 12th Division insignia?" Urahara asks again. He refused to believe them at the beginning but now he looks almost convinced.

"Yes."

"Fine, I'll help you with this."

…

That the concealed entry to the Research Institute is at Urahara's old training place is no big surprise for anyone, Ichigo had guessed that much on his own, but they would have never found it without Urahara's instructions. No matter what else the guy is, he is very smart.

"So what's the plan?" Rukia asks quietly, her voice barely carrying a couple of feet in the dimly lit passage.

"I'll know when we get there," Ichigo replies in the same tone. It's better than saying there is no plan, which is the absolute truth. He just knows he needs to be there, see what's happening in the 12th.

It's not only Grimmjow, there were other arrancar killed--or kidnapped it seems--that day in Hueco Mundo: Nell, Peshe, Dondonchakka and who knows how many more. Grimmjow can take care of himself, he has escaped after all, is the others which have Ichigo worried right now.

The corridor seems to go on forever, the darkness and the light shuffle of feet on loose earth combining to give Ichigo a feeling of claustrophobia. Or maybe it's just a feeling of foreboding at what he might find on the other side.

After what feels like an eternity the corridor opens to a slightly wider chamber, Renji, Rukia and Ichigo stopping there to look for the hidden door. It's not so easy to find, even with Urahara's instructions, and Ichigo can feel his patience wearing thin after ten minutes of fruitless search. He's too tightly strung, the last day's events repeating in his head over and over again. He should have known, he should have guessed, he shouldn't have allowed something like that to happen.

He has a bad feeling about what he's going to find on the other side of that door, if they ever manage to find the fucking door, that's it.

"Finally," Renji's voice brings Ichigo attention back to the present, looking to where a small rectangle of darkness has appeared on one of the walls.

The first thing that hits Ichigo is the smell, rank and putrid so very wrong it makes him almost retch. He can see in his friend's eyes, even in the dim light, the same revulsion. It's not they have never seen or smelled death, he can say they are all pretty much inured to it, but this--just the smell alone is enough to make Ichigo's blood freeze in his veins.

It's desperation and fear and loneliness and madness and blood and pain and so many other things Ichigo can't name but he hates to associate with Nell or any of the others. With Grimmjow.

"What the fuck?" Renji says in a chocked whisper, his hand coming up reflexively to cover his mouth and nose.

Ichigo breathes deeply, nose scrunching at the revolting smell but trying to get in as much oxygen as necessary in his lungs, trying to calm down the hammering of his heart. "Let's move it," he says, entering the dark room.

The door closes behind them almost immediately, leaving them in the most absolute darkness until Rukia conjures a light with some sort of Kidou. What they see there is the stuff of nightmares.

The room is bare except for a cage in the corner and a door on the far end. The smell comes from the cage, which is not empty.

"Oh fuck!" Ichigo hears Renji saying breathlessly, his horror at what they're seeing so thick they can almost touch it. "Fucking bastard!"

Peshe, or what remains of him, is inside the cage. There are only scraps of his old clothes covering him and his mask has been removed somehow. The face that looks at them from the other side of the bars could be human, if one ignored the empty black eyes with a bare hint of yellow looking at them. No, not actually looking at them, looking past them.

"Is he alive?" Rukia asks in a low voice, a slight tremble showing how much is affecting her.

Ichigo approaches the cage and extends his hand, a cold fury writhing in his belly. He's starting to feel something--someone--inside him pushing against his restrains, and he knows he has to keep his temper in check or risk the hollow overpowering him. Peshe doesn’t move, doesn't give any indication he can see Ichigo until he touches him. He flinches then, a high pitched squeal of terror torn from his throat and filling the room.

Ichigo takes a hurried step back, the noise ceasing the moment he is not in contact with the arrancar.

"Yes, he is alive," he says through clenched teeth. His vision is narrowing and he needs to get away from that room now. Fighting against the urge to retch, Ichigo takes a calming breath and turns his back to the cage, moving to the door. "We'll come for him later; we have to find the rest."

He doesn't like leaving Peshe there, but he knows he can't get close enough to him without making him scream again, and he can't allow anyone to know they're there before they have found the rest.

The next room is empty, Rukia's faint light illuminating shelve upon shelve of strange concoctions and bottled specimens Ichigo would rather not know where they come from. On one corner two boxes, filled with papers, rest carefully on top of a chair.

Ichigo moves quickly to the door but Rukia stays for a second, looking at the boxes. "Wait," she says, taking one of the papers and scanning it quickly.

"Come on Rukia, we need to move," Renji says impatiently, his voice betraying his nervousness.

"I said wait, maybe there is something here to tell us where they are," she insists not looking up.

She has a point, but Ichigo doesn’t have the time or patience to go through all those papers. "Leave it, it would take too long to read all of them," he says crossing to the next room.

They don't find anything there, or in the next one. Only more shelves of disgusting things and more discarded papers. Ichigo is getting more and more agitated by the minute, the feeling that time is of the essence pushing him to go forward, to find something.

The find another cage in the next room, only this one is empty. The smell of decay and desperation still lingers in the air, enough for them to imagine what used to be there. Ichigo tries not to put a name to the former inhabitant of the room, and he is glad to know he can at least be certain it wasn't Grimmjow.

He can't be so sure about Nell.

"There is something here," Rukia says when they cross to the following room, her eyes moving straight away to some files neatly stacked on a shelf. Ichigo ca see what drew her attention, there are names on the spines of the folders.

_Test Subject 1: Hollow. No name. Deceased._

_Test Subject 2: Hollow. No name. Deceased._

_Test Subject 3: Hollow. No name. Deceased._

_Test Subject 4: Arrancar. No name. Deceased._

_Test Subject 5: Arrancar. Dondonchakka. Deceased._

He feels a shudder running down his spine reading the name and nods at Rukia inquiring stare. She takes the folder from its place and opens it, dread and revulsion plainly written on her face.

"I'll have a look, you carry on," she says, looking up quickly from the file, "I'll get you if I find something useful."

They nod and leave her to it, Renji conjuring his own kidou-light to help them with the search.

Ichigo is glad there wasn't a folder with Nell's name there, though he feels incredibly sad and angry for the other ones. Kurotsuchi is dead meat, that much is clear. But he wants to find the rest of his victims before he trashes the division, and he doesn't give a fuck what Yamamoto or the rest of Soul Society have to say about that.

"Guys!" Rukia's hushed voice reaches them and Ichigo turns to see her hurrying to them, her hands full of paper and a shocked expression on her face. "We need to get this papers to Yamamoto-soutaichou or Ukitake-taichou," she says, her voice urgent.

"What is it?" Renji asks before Ichigo can react.

_"Mask Removal Day One: the subject is weak after removing his mask completely, the transformation to arrancar has not been achieved, the face is completely human and the subject has no reiatsu. Useless._

_Mask Removal Day Two: The subject dies within 24 hours of the removal. It tried to speak and managed some garbled words in a strange an ancient language. Could it be possible for the Hollow to retain part of his human conscience? Might be an interesting study to take into account but for the purposes of this test is a failure._

"Fuck, that's sick!" Renji gasps, staring at Rukia wide eyed. Ichigo is feeling his control fraying, each word of that monstrosity eroding it a bit more.

_"Mask Removal Day One: The subject dies immediately, the mask tearing whatever life it had from it. It looks as if it dies of shock, the pain probably too great for it. We'll try some sort of numbing agent on the next one. _

"You go Rukia, go with those papers and find someone who gives a shit," Ichigo says, struggling to form coherent words with the storm of feeling stirring inside him. "Find Toushirou, of your brother, or Ukitake. Just not Yamamoto, I don't trust the geezer to do the right thing here. We'll keep searching for Nell and anyone who might be alive. Hurry."

Rukia nods once and turns around, leaving.

Ichigo almost sighs in relief. He wants the back up, that's true, but there is a reason he wants Rukia out of the 12th. He's losing it, and if the worst comes to happen he doesn’t want her anywhere near him.

Clenching his jaw hi looks at Renji, who return his grim look with a nod, and they move to the next room.

…

"You still don't get it, Espada," Kurotsuchi says after a while, his voice mocking and so irritating Grimmjow wishes he could turn it off. He hates the fucking bastard with a passion. "You didn't escape; you just did what I wanted you to do."

Grimmjow struggles against the force holding him, though he knows it's useless. He has been subjected to that helpless feeling too many times to know he can't do anything. Still, he has to try; he can't just let himself be taken back to that place.

"You're just bait," Kurotsuchi continues and Grimmjow snaps back to attention, listening to his words again. He has a bad feeling. "I realized my research couldn't be completed with the specimens I had. I needed more than hollows and arrancar for what I wanted. I needed vizored as well."

Grimmjow stares at him, horrified, the blood freezing in his veins. Vizored. He knows what the freak means with that.

"But they are forbidden to go back to Soul Society, all except for one, and they are not good test subjects. They know too much, they are tainted by the Hogyoku. I needed another, purer specimen."

_Fucking freak! Keep your hands away from him, bastard!_ Grimmjow wants to say, wants to shout and lunge at the freak, and tear him limb from limb. But the only thing he can do is listen to him, raging inside and thinking, _Not him, he's mine._

"So you see, I let you go because I knew, the moment he realized you were still alive he'd come looking for you. I saw you two in Hueco Mundo, I knew he'd go after you." Kurotsuchi turns to look at Grimmjow, a terribly smug smile on his face-mask-whatever it is. "We have to go back now; my perfect specimen is probably already there, waiting for me."

_Kurosaki._

…


	5. The Eye of the Storm

It takes them almost another hour to finally find Nell, and by the time they do only the sight of the infant arrancar, still alive and masked, is able to calm Ichigo down.

Nell is asleep, drooling slightly and curled in a corner of her cage. The broken mask is still on her head and nothing seems wrong with her at first sight, if one ignores the fact that she is caged and dirty, her clothes filthy from months locked in that fucking place.

They've seen no sign of more arrancar of hollows being kept there, and somehow Ichigo doubts they will find any. If what he suspects is true they are probably already dead.

"We need to get her out of here," Renji says, his voice barely audible.

They have climbed up and down for so long Ichigo is not sure they will be able to find their way out again, and he has to wonder at the fact they didn't find another shinigami while they were searching.

Something is wrong.

A small burst of Kidou us enough to break the cage door, startling Nell awake.

"Ichigo?" she says looking at him with her eyes full of hope, only to close them again, a sigh which doesn’t belong in such a young one falling from her lips. "No, another dream."

It breaks Ichigo's heart to hear her sound so defeated. She must have been waiting for him for a long time, finally deciding he would only rescue her in her dreams.

"Nell," he whispers, opening the door and placing his hand on her shoulder.

She stirs again, looking at him and blinking to dispel the last remnants of the dream. "Ichigo!" She gasps, launching herself at him and bursting out in tears as soon as her arms encircle his neck. "It's you, Ichigo! It's finally you!"

Ichigo hugs her tightly, his throat closing with so many things he wants to tell her. She doesn’t have to worry anymore, he's there to get her out, nothing will happen to her--but he can't, there is something in him whispering that things have been too easy, too quick. He's learned to trust his instinct the hard way in this.

"Let's go," he says over Nell's head, looking at Renji, "I want to be out of this fucking sick place as soon as possible."

Nell and Peshe are what matters now; he can come back and take care of Kurotsuchi and his division later.

They cross empty rooms and dark corridors on their way back, taking much less time now they know there is nothing else for them to find. Peshe is still staring into space in his cage, and Renji takes care of opening his door and gently knocking him out to prevent his screaming before grabbing him, nose scrunching at the foul smell.

Ichigo has never been more grateful to see light and smell fresh air as when they exit the tunnel into Urahara's old training place. He sighs relieved, they are out.

"We'll rest for a minute," he says turning to Renji who's emerging from the darkness behind him, "And then we're going straight to Unohana. I don't care--"

He never finishes his sentence. Ichigo sees how Renji's eyes widen comically, an expression of surprised horror in his face before he can feel the reiatsu and his head snaps back, staring straight ahead at a cero blast rushing towards them.

There is no time to release his sword and deflect it. There is barely time to dodge, trying to keep his hold in Nell, and curse loudly when he regains his feet, unharmed. Renji is not so lucky, Peshe's dead weight making it impossible for him to get out of the way fast enough. Ichigo sees horrified how he jumps, the powerful blast glancing him and slamming him against a rock. Renji and Peshe crumble to the ground.

He looks at the one attacking him, way too freaked out by the day's events to even register surprise at what he's seeing.

"Grimmjow, you fucker!" he shouts letting his body and mouth react before his mind catches up with what's really going on.

Yes Grimmjow is there, standing on thin air with his hand extended after shooting the cero, but there is something strange about him. He's not talking, not taunting Ichigo, not moving to attack again now he has the advantage. Everything he's seeing tells Ichigo that's not really Grimmjow.

Not the Grimmjow he knows.

Nell is crying in his arms, scared and probably shocked by the suddenness of the attack. Ichigo takes another look at Grimmjow, who's still staring at him from afar, and moves to Renji, checking his friend's condition.

Renji stirs and looks at him through clouded eyes, "What--?"

"Stay here," Ichigo says, depositing Nell next to him and releasing his zanpakutou, going straight into bankai form as he jumps away from his friends.

Closer up he sees a lot more things are wrong with Grimmjow: for one the look in his eyes is not the bloodthirsty one Ichigo associates with him. Grimmjow is staring at him in something like horror, his eyes darting from Ichigo to a place behind him even as he parries Ichigo's blows with his sword. Also, his movements are jerky and lack the grace Ichigo knows Grimmjow possess, it feels as if he is moving against his will and Urahara's words echo in his mind.

A puppet.

The puppeteer must be close by.

He sees Grimmjow splaying his hand and barely has the time to call forth his mask and deflect the cero when something slams against his back, the pain making his vision blur for an instant.

"The fuck!" he mutters under his breath, turning to see Renji standing again, Zabimaru released in his hand and the sharp points of the sword shining red with Ichigo's blood. The look in Renji's eyes mirrors Grimmjow's and Ichigo curses loudly. "Kurotsuchi, you sick fucker, come out where I can kill you!"

He feels a swell of anger inside him at the laugh that answers his command, and he looks wildly around, trying to find the source. He can't, Grimmjow and Renji attacking at the same time and forcing him to go on the defensive.

It's a fight he has no hope to win, not unless he wants to hurt both his friend and the guy he was trying to help, so Ichigo has no other choice than to keep dodging and parrying, moving out of harm's way in the last second and hope Rukia comes back with reinforcements soon.

It's not easy, though. Both Grimmjow and Renji are powerful enemies and it's taking a lot of effort to keep himself from doing real damage to them, not to mention the fact that he's losing control of his hollow, his temper already too close to snapping point even before Renji was involved in the fight.

"I'm going to kill you, Kurotsuchi," he declares loudly, hoping that the fucking psycho will make a move to reveal his position.

He doesn’t, the next words he hears are coming from Renji's mouth, though it's clear it's not him the one speaking them. "I was waiting for you, Kurosaki-kun. I knew you wouldn't disappoint me."

It's weird to hear those words in Renji's voice, and so very wrong Ichigo almost misses the meaning behind them. He blocks a hit from Grimmjow's sword with Zangetsu, delivering a sharp kick to Grimmjow's middle and putting some distance between them. "What are you talking about, Kurotsuchi?" he says turning in time to see Renji attacking, avoiding being hit by a hair's breadth.

"I reached an impasse with my experiment," Renji's voice answer him even as Renji's body blocks a hit, moving fast to the other side of the training area and collecting reiatsu to release his bankai. Ichigo curses loudly and follows, attacking barehanded for an instant to try and delay the release. If Renji goes bankai there is no way he can avoid harming him. "The hollows and arrancar I had were too low level to be of any use for me, I needed stronger test subjects. But I was loath to use the Espada and former Espada without knowing if they were going to give me the results I wanted. They are not easy specimens to find, you know."

"You're a sick fuck, Kurotsuchi," Ichigo spits, feeling disgusted just hearing those words. He can still see in his mind Peshe's condition when they found him.

He connects a punch to Renji's stomach and follows it with a kick, knowing it's not enough but hoping it will at least give him a few seconds to regroup. He's losing it fast, the other's voice in his head growing in volume and becoming more and more insistent.

"And besides," the fucker continues, this time through Grimmjow's mouth, and Ichigo realizes just how close the Espada is to him now. "I needed the Espada to lure out my perfect specimen." Grimmjow shots a cero and Ichigo barely has time to block it, being pushed backwards by the force of the blast, his back connecting painfully with an outcrop of rock.

The pain explodes in his back, making his vision blur for a second and his mask to break.

"What do you mean?" he asks, winded, though he is sure he knows the answer.

"You, Kurosaki-kun," Kurotsuchi says, and this time it's his own voice Ichigo is hearing.

And it's too close for comfort.

He doesn’t have the time to react; he barely has the time to feel the sting at the nape of his neck before he realizes he's fallen into the trap. His body freezes as he's turning, his limbs locking and almost making him lose his balance.

_No way,_ he thinks panicked, but he knows he's been had. Kurotsuchi has been playing with him since the beginning, all that time he has been after Ichigo, using everything and everyone to get to him.

Well, not exactly him. The hollow inside him, Ichigo is not so naïve as to believe Kurotsuchi was referring to anything else when he was talking about a perfect specimen.

And he has played straight into his hand.

Ichigo curses inwardly, struggling against the force holding in him place even though he knows it's useless. But he has to; he can't be rendered helpless, not here, not with people he cares about so close by.

He knows the consequences of losing control; he can still remember Orihime's and Ishida's face after that one time, but there is nothing he can do anymore, Kurotsuchi wanted the hollow and he's about to get it.

Ichigo can only hope now the reinforcements come before it's too late.

…

That's a very bad move; Grimmjow realizes the moment Kurosaki stops moving, his entire body freezing mid-lunge and his eyes widening at the realization of what's happening.

He has been observing the fight from the inside, his fury at not being able to control his movements and attacks growing by the second. Not that he has any qualms attacking the shinigami, but he'd much rather be the one doing the attacking not a tool used for someone else's fight.

The only thing Grimmjow is in control right now is his own mind, even his voice has been stolen by the masked freak, much in the same way the other shinigami is being used. He is aware Kurosaki has not been fighting them seriously, and that's his mistake.

Kurotsuchi doesn't know the force he's unleashing, he has never seen it or battled against it. Grimmjow has, and so has the other shinigami, and he can tell just how screwed they are seeing the fear mirrored in his eyes.

Kurosaki closes his eyes slowly, almost unwillingly, and when he opens them they are black and completely inhuman, a horned mask already taking shape around Kurosaki's head.

"Yes, this is what I need," Kurotsuchi says from behind Kurosaki, finally appearing in full view now his goal is achieved.

Grimmjow would laugh if he could utter any kind of sound. Fucking moron doesn’t know he won't be able to control the monster. No one can.

"You," the thing says hollowly, his voice echoing off the rock walls, and turns to face Kurotsuchi.

Grimmjow can see the transformation is almost complete, in barely a couple of seconds Kurosaki's head has been entirely covered by the mask, his orange hair growing impossibly long and his hands and feet turning into claws.

It's a vision to behold, and Grimmjow had wanted to be the one to break Kurosaki's control and face this monster, even if it cost him his life. He had been more than prepared to end like that, fighting this powerful thing the way it was always supposed to be.

But not like this.

It would be funny if they weren't so completely fucked up; Kurotsuchi looks at the monster, surprise and, for the first time, fear in his expression.

"You're not supposed to move," Kurotsuchi says, using his shunpo to get away from the danger. "I put the seal in you; you can't control your body."

_High Speed Regeneration._ Ulquiorra had it, and apparently Kurosaki's hollow has it as well. The seal isn't working, that much is clear.

That fucking freak has unleashed something he can't control.

And they are all going to die because of him.

…


	6. Weathering the Storm

_You lost, King. Now it's my turn._

Ichigo stares at the white image of himself and sighs annoyed. He's in his inner world, which means he now has to fight this fucking nuisance, _again_, while in the outside the hollow wreaks havoc.

He knows what that means for Kurotsuchi's life expectations, and he's not sorry the bastard is about to be torn limb from limb by the monster he sought to control. He also knows what that means for Renji's and Grimmjow's survival chances though, and he'd rather not have their blood on his hands before the day is out.

He must hurry.

"I'm still conscious, I'm still alive," Ichigo says, getting ready for the fight. "I won't let you win."

_We'll see, King. We'll see._

…

The monster's movements are too fast for Grimmjow to follow, especially since he can't move on his own. One instant it's there, staring at Kurotsuchi from behind his mask, and the next he's on the other side of the training grounds attacking relentlessly while Kurotsuchi dodges and retreats.

It's a magnificent sight to behold, even with the threat of imminent death hanging on his head. Grimmjow knew about the monster for the stilted conversations he heard between Kurosaki's friends back in Hueco Mundo, before the end of the War and the beginning of his nightmare. He has wanted to see him fight since then.

And now he is getting his wish granted; he's watching the hollow, his movement fast and precise, graceful and slick as only a mindless animal can be. He's fucking beautiful: all that power, all that insanity. Grimmjow longs for it to be focused on him.

But not right now.

In his current condition it would mean certain death for Grimmjow, and though he's not overly worried at the prospect of his own demise at the hands of this beautiful beast, it would prevent him form fighting Kurosaki, in either of his forms, ever again.

He can't allow that.

It doesn’t take long for Kurotsuchi to realize he's fighting a lost battle unless he really tries to kill his enemy, much as the fucker talked about needing this specimen alive; Grimmjow notices the moment that realization hits him, his body tensing mid dodge and even his mask managing to convey his scowl.

He feels an insane urge to grin; whatever happens, Kurotsuchi will not win.

The hollow attacks barehanded, though his sword is not far from him, chasing his target on instinct and trying to rip him apart like the mindless being he is at the time. He's not talking, not paying attention to anything but his foe, neglecting defence for relentless attacks. Kurotsuchi has also stopped talking, all his attention focused in survival.

Grimmjow tries to move again, using all his willpower to break the control placed on him by the reiatsu seal now Kurotsuchi's attention is diverted. He can see, out of the corner of his eye, the other shinigami's eyes following the fight and the focused look on them, and he knows the shinigami is also attempting to break free.

He still can't move, but his attempts seem to have caught Kurotsuchi's attention and he feels his body jumping into the fight again, attacking the hollow's unprotected back.

_Coward,_ Grimmjow seethes inwardly, his hand going to his sword and unsheathing it, seeing the spray of red blood as the swing connects with the hollow's back.

It howls, turning to face Grimmjow in a move so fast he can't see it, pain exploding in his chest where the hollow's claws rip his body, skin and muscle tearing, blood dripping on to the parched sand below.

_Fuck!_

He sees the Shinigami stepping into the place Grimmjow was occupying a second before, his sword also in his hand and attacking the hollow while Kurotsuchi retreats to a distant corner of the training area.

So the fucking bastard wants to use them again.

They attack together, swords glinting in the sun as they cut and block those dangerous claws. Kurotsuchi doesn’t seem to be overly concerned with their defence, allowing them to take damage as he sees fit, but he at least tries to parry the hits. He probably wants his puppets to last as long as possible.

The hollow is strong, too strong for both of them to fight under these conditions. Grimmjow is not sure they would have a better chance if they were fighting on their own, but being moved as chess pieces trying to inflict damage on a being which can _fucking heal itself immediately_ is the worst possible way.

He shots a cero, seeing the hollow's hand lift to block it barehanded and a ball of energy gathering between the points of his horns. Grimmjow cringes inwardly, if he's hit with that, and he has no doubt he will, there is no way he survives. The Shinigami next to him seems to know that fact as well, if the horror in his eyes is any indication.

He watches, fascinated, as a cero to rival his own Gran Rey Cero forms, ready to blast him into nothingness. He doesn’t have time to feel sorry for himself, at least he got to see and fight Kurosaki one last time, and this time his stupid conscience won't interfere with the end of the fight.

It's not the best way to go, but it beats being controlled and imprisoned.

He'd smile if he could move.

The monster howls again, turning sharply and rushing in the opposite direction, the blast aimed now at Kurotsuchi. He wasn't expecting it, unable to completely dodge it while the hollow calls his sword to his hand. Grimmjow can't see in the middle of the white blast, the hollow disappearing inside the cloud formed by the destruction, but he can tell the moment Kurotsuchi dies.

There is an instant of pain, sharp and cleansing on the back of his neck, and then blessed freedom and movement return to Grimmjow. Control, he's finally in control of his own body.

Grimmjow opens his mouth and screams in triumph, throwing his head back, the sound echoing in the entire training grounds.

…

The relief of being free to move is short lived.

They're still in deep shit, Kurotsuchi's careless use of them has left Grimmjow and the shinigami severely wounded, and with a big problem in their hands.

"Can you move, Shinigami?" Grimmjow asks shortly, his eyes fixed on the dust cloud already setting. He can see a shape standing there, not moving or doing anything, just standing.

He should be grateful the hollow had enough intelligence in him to recognize his enemy, but he's not counting on their luck to hold much longer. He knows what Kurosaki did to his friend last time he lost it like this.

"I think so," the shinigami says, his voice strained. Grimmjow turns to look at him and asses his condition. The shinigami is bleeding profusely from a deep gash under his collarbone, and one of his legs is drenched as well. He's standing, but he probably doesn’t have much energy to fight, nor a lot of freedom of movement if the way he favours his uninjured side is any indication.

Grimmjow is in a slightly better shape, his chest is torn and bleeding as well, and his left arm feels broken from when he was slammed against a rock before, but it's not enough to stop him fighting.

The dust clears completely and they see the hollow, standing with its back to them and staring at a shivering and whimpering bundle on the ground. It's not difficult to recognize Nell, the tiny arrancar Kurosaki carried around in Hueco Mundo. She seems to be unharmed, though terrified out of whatever wits she had.

"We need to stop him," Grimmjow says, his eyes never leaving the scene, wondering if the hollow is so far gone it will attack Nell.

"Yeah, I know," the shinigami agrees, gathering his reiatsu. Grimmjow realizes the guy is about to go Bankai, and considers if he should release his sword as well. His released form gives him speed and strength, though it doesn’t increase his range and he's not too sanguine about getting to close to the hollow. "We need to cut one of the horns," the shinigami informs him, "for what Ishida told me is what Ulquiorra did to break the mask."

Grimmjow nods, "You or me, Shinigami?" he asks, eyeing intently the still unmoving hollow.

"It's Renji," he says, shooting him a look, "not Shinigami."

Grimmjow rolls his eyes. He doesn't give a fuck. "Whatever, _Renji_. You or me?"

"You," Renji grits through clenched teeth, and then he releases the reiatsu. "Bankai!" Grimmjow sees how his sword transforms into a weird, huge bone serpent. "I'll handle long range--"

He doesn't finish whatever he's going to say, Grimmjow grabbing him and jumping aside just in time to evade one of those monstrous ceros. The Bankai release must have triggered the attack, Grimmjow realizes. "Pay attention, Shinigami," he snaps once they are as far away from the hollow as they can get. He releases his sword immediately, moving quickly the instant he sees the hollow approaching them.

Renji has taken position behind the hollow, unfurling his sword and wrapping it around it; the movement is futile, Grimmjow knows the hollow will be free in less than two seconds, but it might give him the time to get close enough for what he needs.

It doesn't. The moment Grimmjow steps up to him, the hollow turns and growls, the disjointed pieces of Renji's sword falling around him. He doesn’t have the time to dodge the hit, only to try to block it with his hardened arms but the pain when they collide is excruciating. He's sure both of them are broken now, his attacks rendered useless.

"Fuck!" Grimmjow swears falling to the ground.

The hollow is almost on top of him, his black sword an omen of death in the too bright enclosure. Grimmjow leaps to his feet as the sword descends on him, taking a glancing blow to his side but avoiding being skewered just by sheer dumb luck.

"That's not going to work," Renji says appearing at his side. His limping has gotten worse and Grimmjow can see he's reaching his limit. He won't be able to hold his Bankai for long.

"No shit!" Grimmjow says scathingly. He hates that he's been forced to fight the hollow with such poor odds, especially because he is sure there won't be a second chance for him to do it. "Again!" he urges the shinigami. He knows it's not going to work but that doesn't mean he's not going to try.

Renji nods grimly, jumping aside and forcing his sword to reform, using it as a huge whip to for the hollow to move. Grimmjow takes his chance to move as well, gritting his teeth against the pain in his arms while he prepares for his strongest technique. He approaches the hollow from the back, releasing the _Desgarron_ as he jumps, aiming for the hollow's head.

He can see the bolts of light approaching the hollow, fast and precise, and has moment to hope it might actually work before they dissolve, breaking in a million tiny pieces of useless energy.

"Grimmjow!" he hears the shinigami shouting, but he can't move, he can't do anything but stare at the arm protruding from his belly, his breath gurgling in his throat.

"Shit," he rasps, his knees buckling, his remaining strength leaving him. "Shit."

This close he can see how truly inhuman the hollow's eyes are, he can also see how a tiny spark of energy grows to become a cero. The hollow's head turn and Grimmjow opens his mouth, each breath agonizing.

"Watch out Shinigami!" But he can see Renji is not going to be able to move on time, not with his Bankai crumbling around him.

He thinks he sees something glinting in the sky, like tiny crystals falling slowly, and he closes his eyes slowly.

This is it, they are done for.

…

_Tired already, King?_

Ichigo pants, staring at his distorted reflection grinning predatorily at him, his blue tongue coming out to lick his lips in a disturbingly sensual gesture. Ichigo shudders. This is the longest he's had to fight the deranged hollow, and even though he's not losing, he's not winning either.

He's just wasting time he doesn’t have.

With a growl he lunges at the hollow, who dodges him laughing, not attacking him when his haste leaves him wide open.

_Why such a hurry, King?_ The hollow taunts him, blocking his attacks, the smirk never leaving his face. He's playing with Ichigo, that much is clear, though he can't, for the life of him, imagine why.

"Fucker," Ichigo mumbles, only _he_ would have a personal demon as annoying as this one inside of him. "Why are you not fighting seriously?" Ichigo shouts, his patience at its limit. "Are you afraid of losing?"

_I've already won, King,_ he says mockingly, bowing slightly never breaking eye contact with Ichigo.

The hollow laughs and Ichigo's blood freezes in his veins, realizing again what an utter moron he really is, falling for everyone's traps.

"No," he denies, though he can see it might well be possible. Grimmjow and Renji didn't have a chance against his hollow unless they broke Kurotsuchi's control first, and this fucker has kept him busy enough time for it to be too late.

_Yes, you've already killed everyone you wanted to protect,_ the hollow says, smug satisfaction oozing of every word. _There's no point returning there, is there _Ichigo_?_

…


	7. Shoring up the Debris

Ichigo stares at the hollow with narrowed eyes, the bile rising to his throat at the words. _You've already killed everyone you wanted to protect._

"You're lying," Ichigo snaps, clenching his jaw so tightly he fears his teeth might break from the pressure.

_Am I?_

"Yes, I know you're lying," he says before attacking fiercely, his first hit forcing the hollow to retreat hastily, trying to block the powerful blow and groaning at the effort, his amused smirk vanishing.

He doesn't believe, he can't believe in the hollow's words.

They are not dead, not yet.

And he has no more time to waste.

…

"Shirei, Senbonzakura!"

Grimmjow opens his eyes at the strange voice, seeing only a mass of pink sakura petals swirling around, severing the arm still skewering him and surrounding the hollow, the beast's roar of pain and anger almost deafening. He's far too tired to feel surprise or even relief--the shinigami's intervention might have saved Renji but there isn't much they can do for him anymore, not with the damage he's already taken.

Besides, he's learned to be wary of anything the shinigami might do for him.

"Taichou!" Renji's shocked exclamation reaches him, and he sounds as exhausted as Grimmjow feels and sounds far, far away.

"Don't move Renji," the first voice replies calmly. "Let Unohana-taichou take care of you."

"Ichigo--"

"We have him Renji," a girl's voice says, dredging up a face from Grimmjow's memory. The shinigami bitch, the one always shadowing Kurosaki.

Numbly, he feels his body falling now the only thing holding him upright has been removed.

"Get Grimmjow away from him!" he hears the girl saying and he notices, amused, that he's closed his eyes again and doesn’t even know when. He distantly feels cold hands on his shoulders, helping him up and moving him to another location.

He tries to struggle away from the hands, he doesn't want or need help from those shinigami; he'd rather take his chances with the hollow than being indebted to the fuckers. He's too weak, though, the blood flowing from his torn abdomen and so many other smaller injuries pooling under him. So much blood--it's a miracle he has not dissolved into ashes yet.

"Sennen Hyorou!" A gruff voice says somewhere next to Grimmjow, and he shivers slightly noticing for the first time the drop in temperature. Or maybe it's the blood loss.

"Hitsugaya-taichou, Ichigo--" the girl sounds alarmed.

"He's contained," the grumpy one says, and his voice sounds further away. "That will give us time to--Unohana-taichou!" he suddenly shouts urgently, and Grimmjow can feel small and cold hands on his chest, pushing him down gently. "We're losing the Espada!"

There are other hands on his body now and he can hear a loud cracking sound, almost like ice breaking and crumbling to the ground, the hollow's voice echoing loudly around them.

"You need to cut the horn, nii-sama!" the girl says and she sounds closer than before, almost as if she was on top of Grimmjow. He struggles to open his eyes again, wanting to know what's happening to Kurosaki's hollow, but they weight too much and he's already too exhausted. "Unohana-taichou, is he going to live?"

_Of course he's going to live! Kurosaki wouldn't die if you killed him, believe me, I've tried._ Grimmjow wants to say when another feminine voice responds, this one so close it has to belong to the one touching Grimmjow.

"I think so, Kuchiki-san, the Espada is strong and though my healing skills are mainly for shinigami, I can at least do that much," the other woman sounds calm and confident, and it takes Grimmjow an instant to realize they are talking about him.

He begins to struggle again, fighting to get away from the hands healing him. He has no problem with dying, but going back inside that fucking cell is out of the question, and the only reason a shinigami, a _Taichou_ at that, might want to keep him alive is to send him back there and continue the freak's experiments.

"Hitsugaya-taichou," the woman says, her hands exerting more pressure on Grimmjow's body now he's trying to move, "can you please keep him still?"

The small, cold hands are back on his shoulders, holding him down against the hard rock, the strength returning slowly to him. Grimmjow's eyes snap open, staring unfocused at the blue sky over the training grounds and then fixing on the faces around him.

There are two of them, a scowling kid and a woman. She looks old and calm, but exudes an aura of contained power Grimmjow can almost taste. The kid is staring at him with cold eyes, his lips pressed in a disapproving line.

"Stay still," he grounds through clenched teeth, his eyes darting to where the hollow is before focusing again on Grimmjow, "He's not going to be happy when he comes back to himself if you damage yourself further."

Grimmjow glares at the kid, buckling and snarling, and hating that he can't get away from a woman and a boy. Fucking masked freak did a number on him.

"Hitsugaya-taichou," Renji's face appears in Grimmjow's field of vision, still too pale and visibly weary, but at least standing on his own. "Go help Kuchiki-taichou, I'll stay with Grimmjow."

The hands holding him disappear only to be replaced by Renji's larger ones. "We're trying to help, you fucking stubborn bastard, let us!"

There's no way he will, not even after having fought the masked freak with this particular shinigami. "Fuck you!" he snarls, pushing himself up with all the strength he can muster and succeeding in throwing Renji off. He can remember the shinigami was in worse condition than him before the fight, and he hasn't had the time to be properly healed.

He tries to use that to his advantage.

"Abarai-san," the woman says, her voice low and controlled, "you are in no condition for this; if he doesn’t calm down I'm going to be forced to render him immobile."

Grimmjow feels a stab of panic at those words, remembering how it felt to be under Kurotsuchi's control. He redoubles his efforts, Renji pushing him down with all his might, the strain plain in his face.

"Let me go you fucker!" Grimmjow snaps before completely throwing the shinigami off him and awkwardly climbing to his feet. He turns to the woman, who is regarding him calmly, as if Grimmjow is no threat to her.

He's about to attack when he feels something crackling around him, a strong energy burrowing under his skin and forcing him to stay still. "I don't want to do this, but you don't let me other choice," she says and the next Grimmjow knows darkness is rushing to meet him.

…

The hollow has been silent for the past minutes, just dodging and blocking Ichigo's attacks, his taunts and cocky smirk a thing of the past. Ichigo is pushing him to his limit; his desperation at being forced to fight this bastard while not knowing what kind of damage he's inflicting outside giving him a strength he didn't know he had.

Still, it might not be enough.

_You can't win, King,_ the hollow says seriously.

"I won't lose," Ichigo counters hotly, releasing a Getsuga Tenshou without even thinking.

_No, you won't lose. But you can't win, and until you realize this we'll keep meeting here and fighting,_ the hollow counters the blast of energy with one of his own.

"What do I have to do to kill you?" Ichigo mutters under his breath, dodging an attack by a hair's breadth.

The hollow laughs, amused. _You can't. I'm you._ He stops and looks up, his smirk disappearing. _Time's up, you got lucky again. Next time your friends might not be there to stop me, and then I'll have you._

…

The first thing Ichigo sees when he opens his eyes again is Rukia's worried face looking down on him. He groans, feeling pain in so many places his entire body is a dull ache.

"Welcome back," she says softly, concern and elation plainly written on her features. "Don't move, Unohana-taichou is patching you up,"

"What--" he tries to say, his parched throat rendering the words unintelligible. He swallows dryly and tries again, feeling more people at the edge of his vision but unable to focus on them. "What happened?"

"You don't know."

It's not really a question, Rukia is aware he isn't conscious when the hollow takes over. "Kurotsuchi?" The last he can remember is fighting the freak, and then--then he was inside himself fighting with the other freak. He groans.

"Dead," Renji's voice answers somewhere behind Ichigo and he turns his head, wincing at the pain and dizziness the motion provokes. "Woah, easy there Ichigo!" He feels Renji's hand on his shoulder and feels slightly better for the contact, reassurance that his friend is there and in one piece.

"You--"

Everything is still fuzzy and unclear, the sequence of events not making sense in his mind, but he can see Renji was hurt. He has the nasty feeling he is the one responsible, and the blank he's drawing from his memory doesn’t help at all.

"I'm fine," Renji repeats slowly, almost as if he's reading Ichigo's mind. "Unohana-taichou healed the worst injuries, and it was Kurotsuchi, thank fuck the bastard is dead!" Ichigo lets a relieved sigh escape his lips. He feared the worst, the image of Zangetsu piercing Ishida's body still giving him nightmares; he doesn’t need more of those. "Grimmjow's worse off than I am, and the fucking asshole refuses to be healed."

_Grimmjow!_ Just that name is enough to clear Ichigo's head, the rest of his memories falling to their rightful place. "Where?" Ichigo asks sitting up with an effort and ignoring the hands trying to pin him down again and Unohana's disapproving stare.

"I had to restrain him so he stopped fighting me," Unohana says in her calm and collected manner, though Ichigo can feel a slight annoyance in her voice. "Do I need to do the same to you, Kurosaki-san?"

He shakes his head and lets Unohana finish her work, Renji filling him on the details of what happened while he was out of it.

"I killed him then," he says, not feeling the guilt he was expecting at the idea of taking a life. Bastard deserved it.

"Yes."

"There's going to be hell to pay now," if he knows Soul Society the way he does, Yamamoto will not let the murder of one of his Taichous go unpunished.

"You don't need to worry about that, Kurosaki-san," Unohana says, and if she is not concerned then he shouldn't be either. "We have more than enough proof of Kurotshuchi's activities, and you'll have three Taichou's testimonies to vouch for you."

He nods, grateful to have their support. He turns to look at Grimmjow again, still unconscious on the ground. "What did Kurotshuchi do to him to leave him in that state?" he wonders out loud. When he saw Grimmjow before he looked mostly normal, if one didn't take into account the reiatsu block.

Ichigo sees the look that passes between Renji and Unohana and feels his heart clench. "What did _I_ do to him?" he asks staring at Renji.

"You don't wanna know."

So it was bad.

"What did I do?" he repeats slowly, glaring at his friend.

"When we arrived," Byakuya's cold voice answers him from his other side and Ichigo turns is head to look at him, surprised at the anger and resentment he can see there. "You had punched a hole through his stomach and were about to blow Renji into the next world. With this, consider my debt to you settled in full. Next time you lose control like that, I will personally put you down."

Ichigo nods, acknowledging the warning for what it is, and with a last cold glare Byakuya leaves.

"Don't take it to heart, Ichigo," Rukia says appearing where her brother used to be. "He's worried about Renji and he was worried about you."

"He's right," Ichigo says, the words Byakuya said sinking fully in. He can't lose control again. "I'm a menace."

"Don't be an idiot! Kurotshuchi was the menace!" Renji snaps, dragging Ichigo's attention back to him. "You didn't lose control, he fucking ripped it away from you; you won't lose it again so there is nothing to fear."

He doesn’t feel any better for that, but he nods anyway, his hollow's parting words resonating in his head. If he doesn't want to be put in that situation again he needs to improve, work on getting stronger without relying in his hollow's power so much.

But before-- "I'm going to get rid of all the evidence of Kurotshuchi's research, make sure the labs are empty."

"What will you do with them?" Unohana asks looking at Grimmjow, and Ichigo notices for the first time Nell and Peshe are with him. "There is nothing I can do for the injured one, what Kurotshuchi-taichou did to him I can't repair."

Ichigo takes a breath, "There were no survivors of his research," he says and Unohana nods.

"You are healed now, Kurosaki-san," she says standing up and moving to where Hitsugaya is, talking to him for a second in low tones. Ichigo sees Hitsugaya nodding and looking briefly at him. "We're taking our leave now; call us when the time comes for you to present your case."

"Thank you," Ichigo says standing up. "Rukia, Renji, take Nell and Peshe outside and wait for Grimmjow there, he'll join you shortly. Take them to Earth so they can go back to Hueco Mundo."

She looks dubiously at him, "Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"What are you going to do?" She asks, scooping Nell into her arms while Renji picks up Peshe.

"I'm going to destroy the lab and then I'll go explain everything to Yamamoto."

"But--" Renji tries to protest, Ichigo can tell he wants to stay and help him.

"You don't need to get more involved than you already are. I'll be fine."

He turns his back to his friends to avoid more protests and goes to the hidden door.

He has a job to do, and after that he'll wake Grimmjow up and get the bastard to leave, which he knows won't be easy.

It's better that way.

…

Kurosaki Ichigo is looking down at him when Grimmjow finally opens his eyes. The first thing he notices is that nothing hurts anymore, that old bitch must have completely healed him. On its own accord, Grimmjow's hand moves to the nape of his neck, feeling the skin there and almost letting out a relieved sigh feeling nothing.

For a minute there he feared a new mark was replacing the old one.

"You're free to go now, Grimmjow," Kurosaki says noticing his gesture and Grimmjow glares hotly at him. He doesn’t need this poor excuse of a shinigami to tell him what to do.

"As if you could keep me here," he retorts, standing up and looking around.

They're still in that strange, barren place. The damage done by their fight is plain to see, the door through which Kurosaki and the other shinigami appeared before completely collapsed. The rest of the shinigami are gone, even Nell and that other arrancar have disappeared.

Kurosaki is staring at him with a curiously intent expression, his eyes moving from Grimmjow's face to his torso, something like guilt flashing in them. Grimmjow can tell what's coming and he has to fight the urge of rolling his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Kurosaki says and Grimmjow scowls.

"Fuck you!"

"I'm sorry I took this long to realize what was going on," Kurosaki continues as if he hasn't heard Grimmjow. "And I'm sorry I almost killed you. I lost it--"

Grimmjow can't stand it; this is not something he has ever wanted from Kurosaki Ichigo. He's always wanted the fire and the hate, the power the shinigami oozes so easily, the insanity and anger he can feel crawling under his skin, barely leashed and ready to lash out at anything and everything. He feels his blood boiling and takes a step forward.

"Fuck you Kurosaki!" he snarls in his face, "I didn't need your help, I would have--"

"You would have ended like Peshe!" Kurosaki snaps back, the contrite expression leaving his face, replaced with an angry scowl of his own. That expression suits him better.

Grimmjow smirks.

"You're the one who almost ended like Peshe, you moron," he says annoyed. He knows that wouldn't have been possible, not with that monstrous power inside, but he's not going to tell that. "I was the bait, and you took it, you fucking idiot!"

"What did you expect me to do, leave you here at Kurotshuchi's tender mercy?" Kurosaki glares at him, taking a step forward until they are face to face, scant inches separating them. That close Grimmjow can see the fire in his eyes and a small vein twitching in his jaw, where he is clearly grinding his teeth.

Kurosaki was worried about him; the irony of the situation doesn’t escape Grimmjow. He thinks back at the moment the freak told him what his real objective was and what he felt at the moment. Yes, he can understand Kurosaki perfectly.

Not that he has any intention of telling him so.

"So now what? Have I changed one shinigami jailer for another?" Grimmjow asks, not overly concerned. Without that fucking mark on his neck there is no way another shinigami will ever be able to control him. If they want to keep him in Soul Society they better intend to keep his corpse; there's no way he lets them do that to him again.

"No," Kurosaki says, not moving away from Grimmjow. "You leave now, Rukia will escort you to Karakura and you can go back to Hueco Mundo from there. Take Nell and Peshe with you, I've destroyed the lab and all the records of Kurotshuchi's investigation, so nobody is tempted to carry it on. From this moment on you're dead as far as Soul Society is concerned."

Grimmjow feels his brows crawling up his forehead. "What about those other shinigami?"

Kurosaki shrugs, "They're friends, they'll keep silent."

Grimmjow snorts a laugh, "You trust people too much, Shinigami," he says taking a step forward and grabbing Kurosaki's arms, their bodies flush against each other, their faces almost touching. "I could kill you now, we're alone here; I could kill you and disappear before your friends even notice I'm gone." He can feel the shiver coursing through Kurosaki's body, but there is no fear in his expression.

"You won't," Kurosaki says, his voice low and a bit breathless. Grimmjow feels the heat radiating from the other body, a similar one igniting in his, and he wants--he takes a step backwards, letting go of Kurosaki.

"This time," he hears himself saying, and Kurosaki is looking at him with an oddly disappointed expression. "But your luck won't hold forever. One day you'll look back and I'll be there, and then I'll kill you for sure."

He turns to leave, feeling Kurosaki's eyes digging on the back of his head. The sooner he is as far away from Soul Society as he can get the better. He doesn’t need nor want the strange feelings Kurosaki's proximity is causing.

He hears Kurosaki's voice in the distance, and he can't help the shiver of excitement at his words.

"I'm counting on that, Grimmjow."

…


	8. Epilogue - The Calm After the Storm

Ichigo sighs and relaxes back into the healing hot spring, enjoying the feeling of the hot water lapping at his body and healing the numerous scratches and minor injuries he has sustained during the training. Next to him Renji groans in pleasure, his own injuries also being healed.

"So, Rukia and Urahara. I didn't see that one coming," Ichigo says after a while, breaking the comfortable silence. He still hasn't recovered from the shock of seeing his friend with that lecherous bastard, but she seems to be happy and that's all that matters to him.

Renji huffs a laugh, "Tell me about it, Byakuya's been bitching since he found out about it," he says, the amusement clear in his voice. "I've never seen the uptight bastard using that kind of vocabulary, you'd be surprised at how inventive his language can get."

Ichigo smirks and looks at Renji out of the corner of his eye. Renji is flushed by the exercise and the heat of the waters, eyes closed and head thrown back. From there Ichigo can clearly see several marks on his body, previously hidden by his clothes.

"I can imagine he's also as inventive in the bedroom," he comments casually, keeping an eye in Renji's reaction.

"Not that much, he's--" Renji's voice is cut short with a curse when he realizes exactly what he's admitting to, and he turns to glare at Ichigo, who's smirking smugly at him. "Smartass."

"Told you he wasn't as straight as you though," he says before closing his eyes again, and he can hear Renji spluttering indignantly.

He's glad at least something good came out of everything that happened; Byakuya's timely rescue, and the way he refused to let Renji out of his sight even for an instant during the following investigation and interrogation were more than enough for even Renji to notice.

Ichigo doesn't like thinking about those days, and how they needed to fight Soul Society's bureaucracy to prove what they did was right. He knows they wouldn't have managed without Byakuya's and Hitsugaya's support, and without Unohana's horrified accounting of the various experiments the fucking Kurotsuchi had done.

He knows now he took the right decision making Grimmjow leave. As long as Soul Society at large considers him dead they won't go after him.

He remembers their last conversation, the moment Grimmjow grabbed him and how much Ichigo wanted something--anything--to happen, only for Grimmjow to leave immediately afterwards, his parting words sounding more like a promise than a threat.

A promise he has failed to keep. In the month since his return from Soul Society, Ichigo has not so much as felt his presence close. He can't blame him: Grimmjow was not his friend and if he's smart he'll keep as far away from Ichigo as possible. Especially after he almost killed him.

"And Grimmjow wasn't as dead as you thought," Renji says taking Ichigo out of his musings, "so what's your excuse now?"

It's Ichigo's turn to glare, "There is nothing--"

"Bullshit!" Renji cuts him, his voice dripping annoyance, "You killed a Taichou and faced Yamamoto's wrath for him, don't tell me there is nothing there!"

Ichigo blushes slightly but narrows his eyes at his friend. "I would have done the same for Nell or any of the others."

"I know, but you did it for Grimmjow. And Kurotshuchi used him because he knew it was the best way to ensure you'd follow him." Renji rolls his eyes, exasperated. "Look Ichigo, I know you're dense, but you can't have failed to notice your own feelings here."

"Pot, kettle," Ichigo mutters under his breath, but Renji ignores him.

"God knows why, but you like the fucking menace. Now stop moping and do something about it!" Renji stands up from the healing spring, shaking himself like a dog and spraying drops of warm water everywhere. "Go find him; I have to go back to Seiretei. I expect to see some marks on you for next week's sparring session!"

Ichigo glares at his friends retreating back and closes his eyes again, thinking about what Renji has said.

…

He can't believe he's doing that.

Ichigo steps out of the Garganta and looks around, finding the remains of Las Noches and moving that way. It was embarrassing enough to ask Urahara to open the gate for him, and the knowing smile of the bastard's face was almost enough to make him reconsider what he's doing.

But there he is, and there is a big chance he'll regret it sooner than he thought.

"So you bastards decided to kill me after all," Grimmjow's voice greets him the moment he sets foot in the derelict building. Ichigo turns in the direction of the voice, Grimmjow is looking at him from the top of a fallen wall, his eyes intent on Ichigo's face.

"No, I'm not here for that," he says and sees how Grimmjow's brows arch up, surprise and amusement clear in his face even at a distance. Grimmjow jumps down to stand in front of Ichigo, still regarding him with that strange expression.

"What are you here for, then?"

It's now or never. Ichigo has made the trip to the wasteland that is Hueco Mundo for this, he's not about to turn tail and leave without at least getting an answer. It's taken him almost a week after his conversation with Renji to admit that yes, insane as it is, he wants Grimmjow. Since the beginning there has been something about the Espada which called Ichigo to him, and the same has to be certain for Grimmjow if what he thinks it's true. He's going to find out, now.

He takes a step forward, his eyes never leaving Grimmjow's.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," Grimmjow mutters under his breath at Ichigo's approach, and he freezes at the incredulity in the voice, his blood going cold.

Here is his answer. He knew it was a bad idea.

"You're right," Ichigo says taking a step back, his face flaming. "I've gotta be fucking kidding myself."

Before he can retreat further, though, there is a hand gripping his shikahushou and holding him in place, Grimmjow's disbelieving expression changing to a feral smirk.

"Who says you can leave, Kurosaki?" Grimmjow says arrogantly and Ichigo narrows his eyes. "You're already here, so we--"

"I'm not interested in a fight, Grimmjow," Ichigo interrupts him, though if the bastard doesn't let go of him he might begin to reconsider it.

"Who said anything about fighting?" And before he can move Grimmjow drags his body forward, pushing him against his body and leaning forward.

_Oh_, Ichigo thinks right before Grimmjow claims his mouth, his lips parting immediately to allow the invading tongue in, sucking greedily at it while his hands move to entangle in Grimmjow's hair, deepening the kiss.

"You're insane, Shinigami," Grimmjow says against his mouth, breaking the kiss to nip at his jaw line, his hands intent in divesting Ichigo of his clothes. "Substitute or not you should be trying to kill me, not to get into my pants."

Ichigo knows Grimmjow is right, but he doesn't care. Not with the way Grimmjow's hands are exploring his chest, or the way his mouth is moving to suck and bite the skin on his throat. Ichigo moans when Grimmjow pinches a nipple, his knees buckling, and the next he knows he's sprawled on the sand, Grimmjow's body on top of his.

They get rid of the rest of their clothes in no time, Ichigo claiming Grimmjow's mouth immediately as he settles between his parted legs, the friction of skin against skin driving Ichigo almost insane with desire. He wants more. He pushes up, grinding his cock against Grimmjow's, his tongue exploring every inch of the other's mouth. He doesn’t care that they are in the middle of Hueco Mundo, where any remaining hollow might happen on them, or that the sand is scraping against his bare back. He just wants to come.

"I want to fuck you, Kurosaki," Grimmjow growls against his lips and Ichigo can't help the moan that falls from his.

"Yes," he hisses, tilting his hips up to get more of that wonderful friction. He moans at the loss of contact when Grimmjow moves away from his body, and is about to protest at the hands on his shoulders, roughly turning him around, but he gets the hint when Grimmjow's fingers push past his lips. He licks them slowly, feeling the minute shakes coursing Grimmjow's body and the heat of his erection against his back. With a smirk, Ichigo nips at the tip of the fingers, twirling his tongue around them and sucking them, his own arousal throbbing impatiently.

He received a hard bite on the nape of his neck for his efforts. "Hurry the fuck up Kurosaki, or I'll fuck you without preparation," Grimmjow snarls against his neck, his teeth closing again on the sensitive skin there.

Satisfied, Ichigo releases the fingers and spreads his legs wider, relaxing as much as he can when he feels them pushing inside him. It burns, but he forces his body to ignore the discomfort and concentrates on the feelings of Grimmjow's mouth on his spine and his other hand sneaking around his waist to take hold of his cock.

It takes a few minutes for Grimmjow to stop the torture, and by the time the fingers are gone Ichigo is mindless with need. He's not above begging to be fucked, and be fucked now.

"This changes nothing, Shinigami," Grimmjow says positioning himself and pushing inside in one fast, painful thrust. Ichigo tenses, his breath coming out in short pants, and curses under his breath. "I'm still going to kill you."

"I know," he says through clenched teeth, his body almost shaking with the effort to stay still and relax against the intrusion. "Now shut up and fuck me!"

He gets a low chuckle for an answer, and then Grimmjow is moving inside him, pulling away and pushing back in hard and fast, one hand gripping Ichigo's hip almost painfully, the other matching the pace around his cock. Ichigo presses his forearms against the sand to gain leverage and pushes back against Grimmjow, grinding harder against him and then pushing into his fist, the tension coiling tightly in his belly.

Grimmjow's hand release his hip and grab his hair, pulling and forcing Ichigo's head to tilt back, his mouth covering Ichigo's in a brutal kiss. With a muffle moan, Ichigo feels his climax crash against him, shuddering and groaning his release against Grimmjow's mouth.

"Fuck yes," Grimmjow mutters against his lips, his thrusts frantic and brutal now. Ichigo can tell he's close, and he pulls Grimmjow's lower lip between his teeth and bites savagely, feeling the body on top of his shaking almost violently before freezing, coming inside of Ichigo.

They collapse on top of the sand, Ichigo's back and ass throbbing almost painfully but he can't get it in himself to regret it. It rankles to admit it, but Renji was right, this was exactly what he needed to do. They stay like that, not saying anything while their breathing evens out and their pounding hearts return to normal.

He doesn’t know what to say now they've fucked, or what's going to happen from now on, but he's too exhausted and too sated to care. Ichigo closes his eyes, enjoying the warmth of the sand at his back and the slight breeze on his naked front.

"Remember Ichigo," Grimmjow says breaking the silence, and he can almost hear a purr in his satisfied voice. "This changes nothing; I'm going to be the one who kills you."

He mutters a vague agreement, letting his consciousness slip into darkness.

It changes everything, and he knows it.

_Ichigo._

But if Grimmjow wants to keep believing otherwise, he's not going to be the one to open his eyes.

For now at least.

…

Fin.


End file.
